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Mississippi teen Carly Gregg is seen on phone seconds after allegedly killing her mother Ashley Smylie
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Mississippi teen Carly Gregg is seen on phone seconds after allegedly killing her mother Ashley Smylie

A Mississippi teenager sat in her kitchen next to her two dogs moments after allegedly killing her mother. She allegedly texted her friend about an “emergency” and that she was trying to lure her stepfather home.

Carly Gregg, 15, is accused of killing her mother, high school teacher Ashley Smylie, in their Brandon, MS home on March 19, when Smylie discovered her daughter’s “secret life.”

Gregg, wearing a Nirvana band shirt, shuffled uncomfortably around the house while holding what was later identified as a .357 Magnum handgun behind her back and looking into the camera so it wouldn’t detect the weapon, according to footage shown in a Rankin County courtroom Tuesday.

Carly Gregg sits in the kitchen of her Mississippi home moments after allegedly shooting her mother on March 19, 2024. Law and Crime

The teenager walked through the house and disappeared behind a wall in her mother’s bedroom. There was a loud bang, probably a gunshot. The camera recorded Smylie’s scream, which was captured on Law & Crime footage.

Then two more shots were fired.

Ten seconds after the alleged shooting, Gregg returned to the kitchen. She again hid the gun, grabbing her mother’s phone from the counter and sitting on a stool, the two dogs standing next to her.

Prosecutors say Gregg tried to lure her stepfather, Heath Smylie, back to the house.

“When will you be home, honey?” one text message read, the outlet reported.

When Heath Smylie came home, Gregg shot him in the shoulder, after which the stepfather overpowered the teenager and took the gun from her.

Mother and daughter had just gotten home from school when the teen walked the dogs, while Ashley Smylie searched Gregg’s room and discovered vape pens, WLBT reported.

The Northwest Rankin High School math teacher received a tip earlier in the day that Gregg had been using drugs.

Ashley Smylie, 40, a math teacher at Northwest Rankin High School, was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the face. Northwest Rankin High School

The then 14-year-old boy was captured on surveillance cameras walking around the house and then allegedly firing three shots at Smylie.

Prosecutors accuse the teen of killing her mother because a friend told her about Gregg’s “secret life” with drugs on the day of the shooting.

“From the testimony of a friend, he was so concerned about Carly’s marijuana use, he was so concerned about her being high and having those disposable cell phones, which (Carly’s) mother didn’t know about, that he felt compelled to tell Ms. Ashley Smylie that day,” the Rankin County assistant district attorney said Monday.

Gregg is said to have first looked in the kitchen before walking into her mother’s room and committing the alleged murder. Law and Crime
The then 14-year-old boy was captured on surveillance cameras walking around the house and then allegedly firing three shots at Smylie. Law and Crime

Gregg allegedly texted a friend asking to come over, claiming it was an “emergency” before revealing the horrific situation.

“Have you ever seen a dead body? My mother is over there,” the friend claimed, according to WLBT.

Ashley Smylie, 40, was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the face.

Gregg fled her home after shooting her mother and stepfather. Law and Crime
Prosecutors accuse the teen of killing her mother because a friend told her about Gregg’s “secret life” with drugs on the day of the shooting. Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

Gregg burst into tears Monday as the courtroom watched footage from the sheriff’s office’s body camera showing Heath Smylie arriving at the home to find Heath crying and telling him his wife was dead.

Psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Clark testified that the teen was experiencing a mental health crisis that day. She was experiencing severe mood swings that were exacerbated by her medications. She was also hearing voices and suffering from dissociative issues.

“And then her mother finds out she’s smoking marijuana,” Clark said in court, according to WAPT. “For Carly in particular, she cared so much about her mother’s approval, so for her, this was a crisis.”

Gregg is charged with murder, attempted murder and tampering with evidence. Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Gregg burst into tears Monday as the courtroom watched footage from the sheriff’s office’s body camera showing Heath Smylie arriving at the home to find Heath crying and telling him his wife was dead. Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

Clark and Heath Smylie both testified in court that Gregg had no memory of the shooting.

“I’ve never seen anyone like that, not even in movies. She wasn’t herself and I don’t think she recognized me,” Smylie told his stepdaughter during the trial.

He added that he and Gregg still talk daily and that their relationship is “good.”

Gregg is charged with murder, attempted murder and tampering with evidence.

She refused to take a plea deal and faces up to life in prison on the murder charge, plus 30 years to life on the other charges if found guilty.